TITLE:
Approaches to the Effective Prevention of Road Traffic Injuries in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review
AUTHORS:
Senyo Gudugbe, Dominic Konadu Yeboah, Peter Konadu, Ronald Awoonor-Williams, Joe Nat A. Clegg-Lamptey, Ganiyu A. Rahman, David Anyitey Kokor
KEYWORDS:
Road Traffic Injury, Prevention, Sub-Saharan Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.2,
February
22,
2023
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Road traffic injuries (RTI) are projected to become the 7th leading
cause of mortality worldwide by the year 2030. It is projected that 90% of the
global road traffic injury burden will be borne by Low and Middle-Income
countries (LMICs), including sub-Saharan
Africa. We undertook a systematic literature review to assess the effectiveness
of implemented traffic injury prevention initiatives in sub-Saharan
Africa. Methodology: A systematic review of the English literature was undertaken per the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA)
guidelines. Studies were identified by searching the electronic databases
Embase, Pubmed, Medline, The Cochrane Library and an additional review of
reference lists. In addition, published studies from 1990 to 2020 were
extracted and analysed. Results: The literature search generated 638 articles. Twenty-two duplicates were
removed, and after title and abstract screening and full-text screening, 22
articles were retained. The interventions were broadly categorised into education,
enforcement, Legislation, speed control, road safety and combined interventions. Conclusion: Combined multi-faceted injury prevention strategies are most effective
in Sub-Saharan Africa. Enforcement of safety regulations ensures compliance and
sustainability of prevention interventions.
Speed control measures are useful in calming vehicular speeds, but poor design
and citing can endanger road users. Road safety, education and
Legislation have little to no effect when implemented alone; however, when
combined with other measures, they can lead to significant reductions in road
traffic injuries and fatalities.